With every book that I read, there is usually one inspirational nugget buried somewhere between the front and back cover. It is something that captures my attention, as if those particular words were printed just for my eyes to behold. Sometimes, it’s a quote. It might be a helpful tip. It might be a tidbit about a topic that sparks my curiosity, thereby causing me to purchase three additional books for my pile. But sometimes, it is something as simple as a line that a character says that resonates with me in a profound way that changes my life.

I am currently reading Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein. It is a young adult fictional novel about the very non-fictional topic of women pilots during WWII. Anyway, Maddie, one of the characters says ”If you’re scared, do something.” That’s it. That’s my nugget. Her meaning is that you don’t freeze, or hesitate, or stop yourself from moving in a forward progression toward the best optimal result, even if your current task is not in your cards. WOW!

I perceive the word ‘scared’ as also meaning ‘afraid’, which caused me to reflect on my own fears, and how much fear really is different from (and similar to) anxiety. With fear, we read it like this: “If you’re scared, DO something.” but with anxiety, it is helpful to read it like this: “If you’re scared, do SOMETHING.” I think that we often mistake fear for what is really anxiety, and visa versa, making it difficult to overcome those separate obstacles. To me, fear can be a fear of wasps, preventing us from washing our windows. It can be fear of crowds or audiences, preventing us from giving a speech or presentation. Anxiety, is similar, but it seems so much more debilitating. We see a pile of papers and junk on a desk, then absolutely freeze and walk away, because of this sick feeling it gives us. We see projects (even fun ones!) that daunt us, and multiply quicker than our speed of progress. We see deadlines creep up on us. We see our plans fall apart, making every part of that ‘thing’ mentally impossible to finish. That is anxiety.

If we only knew how little it takes to overcome that fear, that anxiety, we would be less inclined to let it control us in the future. We would become more practiced at doing SOMETHING, or DOING something, allowing us to be more free of these fears and burdens.

This all relates to my week, and how everything kept falling apart to the point where our progression on moving to a new address became ‘sticky’.

• Our water supply is currently being treated with chlorine at our new address, which means no drinking, no showers, no laundry.
• We can’t move our closet stuff over until construction is done on the master bathroom water closet (more on that another day)
• By adding lighting to the sewing room, kitchen, and living room, we have had an electrician ‘fall through’ the ceiling in the dining room.
• My husband broke one of my IKEA shelves that holds some of my fabric, which cannot be replaced until IKEA opens again, meaning that fabric is being tossed in the room every which way.
• He also backed into my car, causing paint damage. (he is not on my happy list this week at all.)
• Wolf spiders everywhere
• Wasps in abundance, both indoors and out.
• Items for kitchen not available
• Meals are hit or miss, and somewhat unhealthy.
• “Where is my [fill in the blank], I know I just had it a minute ago?” is on auto replay.

Here is what I am DOING, which is SOMETHING:

• bottled water, shower at the old house, laundry later.
• pack overnight bags for the new house
• have them patch the ceiling, then come fix it ASAP. Don’t look at it.
• purchase metal shelving from Walmart to hold fabric temporarily. Make husband pay for new shelf, maybe make him go buy it, and haul it home too.
• Wait until old house is sold, then get a quote to have car repaired. Make husband pay for it, and have him do all the dirty work of getting that done.
• Kill all of the spiders, we have plenty more.
• Buy some wasp nest decoys, and don’t let them think they own the place. We own it, and we’re more territorial than they are.
• Decide on my second choice for kitchen items, and commit. Just do it, it might end up being much better at half the cost.
• Eat when I am hungry, otherwise don’t. Meal plan when this is all over.
• It’s right were I set it last. Figure it out, or forget about it.

Originally, I was supposed to make this post for the sweet (and very patient) ladies from my hand stitching group. Hey, you know what? Dang it, NO. This is going to happen too! I may not have been able to get a whole lot done, but I have been carrying this Grandmother’s Flower Garden pencil box around with me in the car so that I can work on it, on the go.

It is SOMETHING that I can do. It is something that I CAN do. It is something that I can DO, and by God, I will. Even if it means sewing on the floor, one Grandmother’s Flower Garden block will be done today.

I hope you have it in you to keep going on that project of yours, or pick it up again. It might not take much. It might be as simple as opening a box and assessing the situation. It might mean you have a task to do to get moving. Do the task. Do something. You’ve got this.

This hand quilt along group is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share projects that we are working on, and to motivate each other. We post every three weeks to show our progress, and to encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group, contact Kathy in her link below. Please visit these other members to see what hank projects they are working on as well. They always have beautiful things simmering.

Kathy Margaret Tracy Deb Susan Nanette Edith Sharon Karrin Gretchen Kathi Bella Daisy Connie Sherrie